(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

Location matters

Council nixes proposed residency policy for city employees

May 26, 2021 | 8:46 AM

After nearly a year of deliberation, Prince Albert city council has decided against introducing a residency requirement for some city positions.

The proposed policy, which was first discussed by council in July of 2020, would have required new hires to senior management positions like city manager, department heads, fire chief and battalion fire chiefs, along with all non-unionized permanent roles, to move within city limits within six months of being hired or face termination. In total, the residency policy would have impacted 63 positions. It also included a clause allowing the mayor or city manager to grant exemptions at their discretion.

The vote on the policy split council 5-4. Those opposed were councillors Terra Lennox-Zepp, Tony Head, Blake Edwards, Dawn Kilmer and Ted Zurakowski. Those in favour were councillors Don Cody, Charlene Miller, Dennis Ogrodnick and Mayor Greg Dionne.

While proponents argued the city was losing out on valuable tax income by allowing some of its highest paid earners to live outside city limits, others felt the policy would hinder P.A.’s ability to attract top applicants.

‘Unreasonable’ and ‘unnecessary’

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“I would like us… be working always on improvements to our city to have our city be a place where employees want to live,” Coun. Terra Lennoz-Zepp said. “I oppose the idea of requiring employees to have to live within city boundaries.”

She added she was concerned there was no specific exemption in the policy for applicants from neighbouring First Nations.

Councillor Dawn Kilmer said she agreed with part of the policy’s stated aim to foster a great of sense of loyalty and community spirit among employees, but said to her, “that community is P.A. and area.

“I don’t believe this policy is necessary,” Kilmer said. “Nor will it achieve the goal to establish stronger relationships between employees, residents and the community in which they work.”

Coun. Head, who has been one of the most vocal opponents of the policy reiterated his position.

“I feel that this policy is unreasonable, unnecessary and quite frankly unjust,” he said.

“I don’t think this is doing us a service here in Prince Albert by limiting our hiring ability.”

Loyalty and tax income

Meanwhile, Mayor Greg Dionne said he believed it was “common sense, if you’re going to apply for a job in the City of P.A. that you better expect to move to the city of P.A.”

Addressing his council colleagues, Dionne said: “we’ve all complained about the non-residents having the same equal access that we do to our facilities and not having to pay for it, well I think it’s prudent that our employees be part of the solution and not part of the problem.”

Councillor Don Cody said council “couldn’t afford” not to pass the policy, saying some city employees lived as far away as Saskatoon and Moose Jaw.

“This is a good city to live in and I don’t know why our employees who are getting paid $90,000, $100,000 and $125,000 don’t believe the same as I do, that it’s a good place to be,” he said.

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alison.sandstrom@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @alisandstrom